Sahjeko: Pariah of the Gerudo
by Goddess of the Sand
Summary: Chapter 3 is up. w00t! --- Ganondorf's daughter is different from her kindred in every way. Her addle brained grandmothers believe she is the herald of destruction, but whose?
1. Prologue & Chapter 1: Acceptance

Sahjeko

by Goddess of the Sand

10-17-02

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Hi there ^.^ Thanks for giving this fanfic your attention, be it undivided or even partial. I hope you aren't disappointed. Ganondorf, Koume, Kotake, and the rest of the Nintendo bunch are not mine. Sahjeko is. :P

Please read and review.

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Prologue.......

"Eh!?" Koume and Kotake asked of each other as the assistant Gerudo offered them their...grandchild. 

"She has blue hair!" squawked Koume.

"Look at that nose!" her icy sister exclaimed. "It's so small!" Indeed the babe's nose did not resemble the prominent honkers of the average Gerudo... "The woman was a liar. This is not a Geru....do..." Kotake trailed off as Koume moved closer to the bundled child.

Koume shook her head, and ran her bony claw of a finger over the soft lobe of the baby's left ear. It was round, like theirs. "Then explain this, Ms. Gerudo-Expert!" she snapped.

Kotake blinked at her contrasting twin then peered at the foreign-looking babe. Gerudo, no doubt about it; Sheikah and Hylians had tapered elflike ears. They were rumored to be able to hear the gods with such equipment. The logic of the three hundred -and-eighty-two-year-old said that if the mother was Hylian, then the father had to be Gerudo... but to her sibling she shook her bony fist, the whole issue forgotten at the verbal challenge from Koume. "It means, you stupid old hag, that she is a Gerudo. Like I said!"

"We're the same age, idiot, and you said she WAS NOT a Gerudo!"

"Don't tell me what I said!" Kotake pushed back the sleeves of her robe, the runic designs done in blue now bunched against each other with the ruffles of the cloth. Gnarled hands called upon the frigid winds of the north and soon the Gerudo witch had a sphere of glittering ice energy to hurl at Koume. With a shriek she threw it point blank at the fire witch, who screamed with pain and rage, then prepared her own ball of energy. 

The assistant wordlessly left the two to quarrel and took the child into the deep levels of the Gerudo Fortress, where children were cared for by ample torchlight, protected by miles of rose-colored granite. 

Bolts of energy shot out the open windows of a certain aboveground room in the fortress, lighting the sky with streaks of flame and ice. Screams of pain, triumphant cackles, and the old, world-weary 'Heh heh's' could be heard by the guards who roamed the perimeter below. Those two were at it again...

*********

Ganondorf had not been back to the fortress for several weeks. Though he had been informed of his 'daughter', nobody had the courage to tell him of her appearance. The desert women looked upon the child as a little blue rat in their midst, though treating her as such outright was to defy their King. Koume and Kotake gave the infant potions to drink, in hopes of altering her coloration. Aside from giving her colic, nothing worked. So, after the King of Thieves returned to his own fortress from signing peace treaties with the other, weaker races, he was offered a parade, food, wine, loyalty.... But he had to ask for his daughter. 

The tall ogre of a man dismounted from his obsidian war stallion, letting two Gerudo take the massive equine up the slope to its stable for pilfered hay and water. His height threatened seven feet, with brawny arms and legs, all sinew and corded muscle honed from fierce battles with the enemies of his people. Leather riding boots were molded to his legs, along with the rest of his armor-like garments. Spikes and Gerudo runes adorned the leather and metal layers glinting in the fierce sun. His skin was the color of bitter olive. His hair was spiked and matched the color of true flames. Being in his mid twenties, age and the desert had not started to carve lines on his face. Ganondorf stood amongst his people like a god, and as he looked down at all they had prepared for his return, something was missing. "Where is she?"

The Gerudo stood still. They tensed as one, waiting for some slap to the face they feared might come. When the eyes of their king fell to the nearest Gerudo, she had no choice but to swallow her fear and answer him, "She's with the other infants, Exalted Ganondorf." 

He arched a brow at her before crossing his arms. "Bring her to me." He nodded at the Gerudo girl's dismissal to fetch the child, and turned his gaze to the rest of them. Amber-hued eyes found them all silent. No sound came from his people. Something was amiss, for a crowd of women to be silent. Before he could speculate on specifics, the girl had returned. 

Her bronze arms were full of white linen, offering it up to him while keeping as far away from him as possible. The girl's body awaited harsh treatment for bringing him such displeasing news in the form of a scrawny, azure-tressed child.

Ganondorf took the bundle easily in his massive hands and moved some of the folds to look at her. "What in the name of Din...." he murmured, moving the folds back further. A pale little face squinted up at him, with a small nose yet it also sported rounded ears. Wisps of sky blue hair were visible on the crown of her head. Words of rejection rested in wait on his tongue. One word and this wretch would be gone. This was not his child, though all knew she was. 

The child began to cry. Loud wails escaped her with each gulp of air. 

"Get this out of my sight!" He thundered, before his heavy boots stormed off in the direction of the fortress' mead hall.

Koume and Kotake looked at each other. Their beady little eyes gave nothing away of their thoughts. He hadn't ordered her dead. It was time to have a talk with their son. 

***********

"What transpired?" The two witches asked of him at once. They each hovered comfortably on ensorcelled broomsticks, one with bristles of fire and the other of ice. 

"There was a battle near one of Harkinian's villages. I found a bitch spying on our camp, so I took her and made an example of her. "

"You raped her," Kotake clarified, with no disapproving scorn.

He nodded. "She had dark blue hair. It was almost black."

"You didn't kill her," Koume pointed out.

"She haunted more of her people alive than dead," he said. "Now, what happened four days ago?"

"A woman with dark hair was throwing herself against our gate. She was heavy with child and she kept claiming it to be yours. We felt sorry for her and let her in, doing our best to help her. However, it was our curiosity as to what she said that made the real decision," Kotake explained.

Ganondorf took a long drought of wine, which had been raided from some village untold years ago. "Why did she come here to have the brat?"

"We don't know," Koume admitted, "she died having the child, so we never will."

He shrugged and took another satisfying gulp. "I know she's mine, just like the rest of my people know it. Why didn't you kill it? I'd have never known, and even if I had, I wouldn't have held it against you."

"Ganondorf, as your surrogate mothers, we did what we thought at the time was the best course of action. Yes, she is ugly beyond belief, and weak. Yet, inside her flows the blood of a Gerudo king. She should have hair the color of blood and skin as dark as the sand, but for mysterious reasons she is the opposite of what she should be," Koume said.

"Doesn't she have a name?" Ganondorf asked.

"Giving her a name means you accept her," Kotake reminded him.

"I know," he mumbled, tired of this. "What star was overhead four days ago?" 

"Sahjeko, the star of destruction," the ice witch said. 

That actually brought a smile to the King of Thieves. "Excellent. Sahjeko she shall be."

r/r please


	2. Blood and Rubies

Here's chapter two! I know the last chapter wasn't very exciting. No romance or action to be seen. Well, the plot is thickening, though it's not exactly pudding yet.*homer drool* Mmmm......pudding.... *eyes glaze over* This fic won't stay PG and angsty forever. I promise!

Please review this chapter. Ya don't have to tell me how great it is or anything, but some response would be appreciated and incentive to write some more happy chappies. 

Hyrule is mine! I created it! I own the rights to Zelda!! In your face, Shigeru Miyamoto!.... **sh'yeah right**. -.-;

Chapter 2

Blood and Rubies

The River of Time continued to flow over the land of Hyrule. Agreements made on oiled parchments strained to hold back races from bloodshed. Or so Ganondorf insisted to his people. Six years had passed and his greed and ambition drove to him new heights of jealousy over all the good king Harkinian had. Dissatisfied with his kingdom of women and the desert, he went on campaigns. His magic soon rivaled and even exceeded that of Koume and Kotake, but even with such vast power he was not happy. He wanted the field and all it touched to be under his grasp. He did everything allowed by Gerudo law to boost his army's numbers. 

The desert women knew in their hearts something was wrong, as he practically ordered them to mate like cattle, but they did not dare defy Ganondorf. Raids were commonplace now, and goods crowded the storerooms that had been empty for so long. The women wore bangles on their arms and ankles, and bound their breasts with stolen silk. Their contempt for the Hylians grew with Ganondorf's coaxing, as the Gerudo scowled at the humble appearance of the Hylian women in the marketplace. The Hylian men reveled in this new peace, as the desert amazons flocked to the marketplace looking for boyfriends like one might shop for a horse. They had no dowry and did not ask for love, but promised more primal things. 

Ganondorf undertook a campaign to cross the vast and verdant plain of Hyrule, to visit the Great Deku Tree. The Gerudo wondered what was so special about a talking tree, but he promised them it would be revealed in time. He returned with treasures of the forest: Stout wood for fashioning arrow shafts and construction, fruits no Gerudo had ever feasted on before, herbs for healing and cooking, and many other things... But there was a quiet anger in the King, one nobody had any idea how to justify. He seemed...disappointed. Those who rode with him told of creatures that followed his every whim. Spiders had crawled from the forest to grovel at his feet and infested the tree at his order, they said. 

Sahjeko was still a mere child, and as one, she spent most of her life deep inside the fortress which had been carved into the plateau. Men made visits to the fortress to see the Gerudo that had captured their hearts, but children were not allowed to see any males save for the king. 

It was pleasantly cool in the conference room and well lit by oil torches. Koume and Kotake would sometimes make their way down and tell stories of great kings and warriors, or entertain them with the harmless tricks their magic granted them as they were doing tonight in the borrowed room for storytelling. A beetle conjured of ice would crawl across bare toes and cause giggles, or tiny dancers of flame would twirl on the floor. Golden eyes reflected the flames...but in the corner, straining to see over the heads of the others, was a pair of blue eyes. 

"Move," a soft voice whispered, "I wanna see..."

The words fell on deaf ears as the ballerina of embers enchanted them with its grace.

Again, "Qatar, I wanna see!" Sahjeko tried to peer over the shoulder of the Gerudo in front of her.

The little girl finally did move, standing on her knees, so all the azure-haired Gerudo was given was a view of her back.

Sahjeko sat in silence, staring at the back of Qatar's head which was bedecked with ornate braids of orange hair, lovingly done by one of her friends. The treatment was not new to her, but now came the realization that it would never change. 

The little girls clapped in approval of Koume's flare dancer, liking it over the ice beetle Kotake had conjured for them, and they giggled high and shrill as the two began to squabble for favoritism. 

Qatar had heard the rumors all her life. The sickly one was a prophecy that the Gerudo were becoming weak and something about the blood of Ganondorf was corrupted, when it should have been pure. The last part confused the child, for she was never meant to hear the talk of the adults, but she told her friends anyway. They all agreed that Sahjeko was weak, and probably was 'corrupted', whatever that meant. 

She turned around, her own golden eyes widening to find Sahjeko so close. Her proximity wasn't what frightened her though; it was her eyes: Cerulean pools of coldness, glittering with icy contempt. Qatar blinked and quickly filed out of the chamber with her friends, like she had never witnessed the hatred in the blue Gerudo's eyes.

Sahjeko had tasted the fear rolling off Qatar, and it had satisfied that void in her heart ever so slightly, to know she had caused even momentary discomfort. As she joined the end of the line to shuffle out of the conference chamber, Koume called out to her, a harsh screech: "SahjeKO!"

She tried not to wince. "Yes, Exalted Koume?" Sahjeko knelt in front of her, basking in the warmth that radiated from the flaming broomstick Koume now hovered on. Kotake was already gone...

"Mandrag Ganondorf wishes to see you. Put on something worthy of his sight and go to the throne room," she barked, pointing a shriveled green finger complete with obsidian claw towards the other exit.

Sahjeko nodded and stood up, running in the direction the fire witch had indicated. She sprinted down the dimly lit halls that held so many sleeping children younger than her, her bare feet pattering yet soft. Turning left, she made the run again, until she came to the doorway at the end of the hall, nearly smacking into the wall before she stopped. 

She parted the curtain of wooden beads and rope and sparked life to her bedside candle with two handy pieces of flint. With it, she lit the brazier in the corner of her barren little room, and the embers in the metal box began to flicker and flame brightly. She wasted just a moment staring at her empty room, where she slept by herself on a pallet of silks and cushions. A privilege, they had said.

The threat of tears was diverted with the task of finding something to wear. Most Gerudo children were given just a few loincloths and some oversized tunics made of soft linen and kept a natural, un-dyed color. Sometimes they were tinted pink or adorned with designs on the hem. Sahjeko's tunics were all stained blue, but she also had clothing made of silk and satin in sapphire, scarlet, tangerine-orange and viridian. She opened the gilded chest that contained it all, and the colors jumped at her. She chose the tiny pair of poofed pants and their matching top, both the color of polished rubies. Gold lined every hem on the top, showing her porcelain torso, and made a wide sash for the pants, holding them to Sahjeko's nonexistant hips. Red was the color Ganondorf's prized thieves wore, and she ran to the throne room dreaming of the approval and attention she was about to get, even if it came from _him_.

Ganondorf sat on his throne, high and mighty, sipping wine from an emerald-studded silver chalice. Two Gerudo flanked the throne, fanning him with fans made of colorful bird plumage. Several more lined the walls on either side of the long, narrow room, holding their double scimitars at the ready against some unseen threat. Incense perfumed the air and torches hovered over the space between every bodyguard. 

Sahjeko walked bravely down the long carpet, feeling the plush velveteen on her naked heels. She strode forward with a look of confidence, despite her true apprehension at all of the scowling women and their sharp, sharp weapons. She got on her knees in front of her titan of a father, bowing until her bangs met the floor.

"Sit with me, Sahjeko," Ganondorf ordered, waving the guards and even his fan-girls away while his frail offspring stood and crawled to sit atop his knees, facing him. He smiled, perhaps meaning it to seem loving, but it was the kind of smile cats gave cornered mice before they mauled them to death all in the name of amusement. His massive hand stroked down her hair, as blue as the sky and contrasting against the putrid green-tone of his flesh. "You chose your garment well, Sahjeko... Red is the color of blood and rubies. It is a very good choice for any Gerudo," He used his index finger to lift her chin up, to make her face him, "but it does not become you."

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Because I am not Gerudo, she thought bitterly.


	3. Starvation and Conditioning

Here's chapter 3! Everybody say YAY! 

Sahjeko and Klaret are mine, but everything else is copyright, trademark, licensed to, yadda yadda... Nintendo.

Chapter 3 

Starvation and Conditioning

Ganondorf felt her tense up at the mention of his comment. His hand went back to resting on the arms of his fur and silk bedecked throne, while his brow arched at Sahjeko in a curious manner. "What's wrong?" he inquired of her, as if he sincerely cared.

Sahjeko craned her neck to look up at him even with the absence of his index finger forcing her to do so. What he had said, like so many things directed to her over the years, cut her to the core. He might as well have impaled her with a glaive. "If red doesn't suit me, Father and King, what will you have me wear?" 

"Blue," he answered, without hesitation.

"Blue," she repeated, lowering her gaze to her hands. 

"Yes -- it matches your hair and eyes..." He stated as though it wasn't the obvious. His massive hand encircled the chalice and brought it to his thin, grimacing lips again, missing the look of scorn granted to his thoughtless remarks. "Tell me, Sahjeko, what occupies your time?"

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Nothing. I am Nothing. I do Nothing. "I weave linen with the other girls, and listen to the stories Exalted Koume and Kotake tell," she lied. Now, to contribute to this father-daughter bonding moment, "What does 'Mandrag' mean?"

Ganondorf eyed her suspiciously. "It is a title, meaning 'King of the Enchanted Thieves'. How did you know of it?"

"Koume called you Mandrag Ganondorf earlier tonight," Sahjeko replied, "and I was curious. As the King of Thieves, what do you do all day?" She looked back up at him, boldly intent on getting an answer.

"I steal things, of course," he said with a wink. "It looks like you need to do the same, for I can see your ribs, child. Do you eat?"

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I eat when I'm fed, she thought cynically. "Yes, but many times I am too interested in Grandmothers' tales." Little liar. To avert his growing interest in her well being, she pursued her question, "What happens when other people don't want you to steal their stuff?" 

"It's a complicated thing called war. It's used to settle things. When I don't get what I want, I make sure that whatever is in my way suffers, so it all works out in the end," he explained, always ready to bask in being the topic of conversation.

"I thought you stole things for your people," she remarked. As soon as she said it, she knew she had caught him, for even a child who hadn't seen the light of Din's orb in months could see through Ganondorf's lies and propaganda. Pressing the matter would end with her death... She felt the words of accusation on her tongue, hot and ready, to deliver her from her persecution, but instead, she found silence dancing on her lavender lips.

"You are exactly right, Sahjeko. When I don't get what I want, what I want being glory and riches for the Gerudo, people die. With nobody to stop me, I take what I want in the end anyway," he beamed, raising his head until his beak of a nose pointed high and menacing in the air. 

"I want to help."

He looked down at her sharply, brow arched higher than before. "What?"

Sahjeko stood on his knees, tilting her head slightly at an angle as if in disbelief that her desire was unreasonable. "I want to do what you do. Make the Gerudo happy and rich, killing if I have to."

This surprised him, and at the same time, pleased him a great deal. Sahjeko was certainly showing merit that supported her prophetic namesake. "Excellent. You can help me right now, in fact..."

Sahjeko blinked, but sat back down now that her wish had been granted. If she was away from the fortress, she wouldn't be harassed. She nodded and tried to look intent on his every word, as though it were gospel.

"...The Gorons are a strange race that live in the mountains of Hyrule. They have a huge ruby adorned with gold. They call it the 'Goron Ruby', but it is truly the Spiritual Stone of Fire, and they use it to light up their underground city."

"If you had it, would you use it to light up the children's chambers? Like daylight?" she asked innocently. Even Sahjeko missed the sunlight.

Not on the top of his list of things to do with one of the keys to the Triforce, but she didn't need to know that. "Yes. It will illuminate the chambers brightly, like a captured star!" he promised. "However, it isn't mine yet, and their leader Darunia is stubborn. How do you propose I get him to reconsider?"

Her stomach clenched for want of food, but the pangs were ignored. It was all she could do until she was old enough to feed herself or find a way to pilfer some food from the kitchens. "Destroy their food supply," she said, knowing full well how persuasive it would be. 

*********

Sahjeko woke up to an unknown Gerudo pulling her off her pallet. Sleepy, she petulantly whined about what was going on.

"Mandrag Ganondorf made it known you were to start training today," she said, annoyed with Sahjeko. This Gerudo wore poofy, indigo pants, faded to a rich purple. A matching halter contained her breasts, sporting a massive chunk of amber for a brooch as well, marking her as a guard. Her midriff was bare, showing taught, dark skin. Her words seemed muffled due to the veil she wore that covered everything from nose to chin. 

The azure Gerudo got dressed, wearing something similar to last night's garb, only in cobalt, with the addition of a creamy vest, all of it airy linen. She had to struggle to get her tiny slippers on, then adjust their pointed toes, making small sounds of effort all the while. Walking over to the guard, she indicated she was ready. 

They walked down numerous halls and went of several sets of steps, the two of them seemingly the only ones up and about in the dank levels of the fortress. Slowly but surely, they were going upwards, towards the outside, with the sand and sunshine and blue sky.... Or not. The starry sky wasn't even brightening for dawn yet. Sahejko had gone from one darkness to another, as silhouettes of guards patrolled the sandy court. Her hunger gripped her attention so suddenly it made Sahjeko hug herself, trying to stifle the noise. "When is breakfast?"

"It's too early for it," the guard explained. "You'll get fed like everybody else does an hour after dawn."

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Maybe. For being so strikingly dissimilar, her bowl was often overlooked. 

Sahjeko followed the anonymous Gerudo across the court, towards what looked like another entrance to the fortress. Only this one had metal bars cris-crossing to make a secure grate. A Gerudo with short hair and sharp features (including her nose) stood beside it, dressed in an undyed linen two-piece, as was fashionable for 'civilian' Gerudo adults when they were at the fortress doing mundane tasks. 

"Klaret, here she is. I've got to return to my post," the Guard nodded towards Klaret and ran off, leaving Sahejko alone with her.

"So, you're little Sahjeko," Klaret sneered. 

Not that it bothered her -- even if Klaret could smile, it wouldn't look much better. Sahjeko nodded and awaited her first instructions in training.

"Inside are the infamous Gerudo Training Grounds. We'll start off in the main chamber, conditioning you. By the looks of it, it's going to be a long day," a subtle reference to her scrawniness. *Clap* *Clap* and magically the grating rose up out of sight, leaving them free to enter. As they entered, the grating slammed down loudly, then the chamber was deathly silent once more, save for the crackle of torches.

Let the torture begin.... 

What do you think of Sahjeko? R/R please!


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